12 Sustainable Lighting Brands Illuminating Your Eco-Home
Don’t you just love those lightbulb moments?
We had one recently when we questioned how sustainable our literal lights were.
Energy consumption aside, we wanted to know what else could be hitting the dimmer switch on our planet—sparking our interest in sustainable lighting.
Most of us don’t give a flicker of thought to the flick of a switch. However, you can brighten up a room in ways that are better for people and our planet.
Like creating a well-lit ambiance with recycled materials from Recreated Lighting’s steam-punk sustainable lights.
Or via The Cardboard Boutique’s retro-inspired designs made from—you guessed it—cardboard.
Graypants combines both these recycled and compostable concepts by transforming scrap cardboard into eco friendly lighting for homes, restaurants, bars, and offices.
How many sustainable lighting brands does it take to change a lightbulb?
We shine a light on that and how we chose this bright bunch of the most sustainable lights at the end of the article.
*This post contains affiliate links
QUICK LINKS FOR ECO FRIENDLY LIGHTING BRANDS
1. GRAYPANTS
About Graypants
Based in both Seattle and Amsterdam, design studio Graypants combines a love of design with a solid sustainability ethos.
Founders Jon Junker and Seth Grizzle met at architect college—both wearing the same gray pants—and embarked on a foray into product design.
With intricate laser cuts and a warm, inviting glow, you wouldn’t guess that the Scaplights collection is made from recycled corrugated cardboard, earning top points as far as sustainable lamp materials go.
In addition to table and floor lamps, you’ll also find pendant lights in unusual shapes reminiscent of beehives.
Graypants’s Ethical and Sustainability Practices
Materials:
Products in the Scraplights collection are handcrafted from partially recycled (at least 50%) cardboard, held together with non-toxic glue, and treated with a non-toxic fire retardant.
You’ll only find natural colorways because they aren’t able to secure recycled cardboard for white and blonde colorways.
These are not suitable as sustainable outdoor lights, in case you were hoping they would illuminate your patio.
The frames on the Scraplights’ eco friendly lamps are made from brass or powder-coated steel.
Materials used for other collections include FSC-certified plywood, acrylic, aluminum, and forged iron.
Once all hardware is removed, they are compostable.
Supply chain & labor practices:
Graypants’s sustainable lights are handmade in either Seattle and Amsterdam by makers valued for their work.
In their own words: “Our products are an extension of the people, the faces and the stories behind them.”
In the Netherlands, they’ve partnered with a social program for manufacturing, providing meaningful employment to individuals with disabilities.
Green business practices:
The cardboard waste used for their Scraplights is collected locally and the brand is committed to socially and environmentally responsible production.
Available: Lumens
2. GOODEE
About GOODEE
GOODEE is a POC-founded one-stop shop for sustainable living.
This curated online marketplace is full of furniture, homeware, gifts, and decor from carefully chosen brand partners.
If you’re looking for the best sustainable lighting, Goodee has plenty on offer including eco friendly lamps, pendants, and sustainable outdoor lights.
They also sell energy-efficient bulbs by Tala that reduce energy use by 90% and last 10 to 15 times longer than traditional bulbs.
GOODEE’s Ethical and Sustainability Practices
Materials:
The woven lampshades by PET Lamp are made from a combination of PET recycled plastic bottles and natural plant fibers.
Pendants by Golden Editions are handcrafted from Ghanian elephant grass with polished brass fixtures.
Tala’s range includes eco friendly table lamps made from mouth-blown glass.
Other materials in their sustainable lighting options include FSC-certified hardwoods and steel.
Supply chain & labor practices:
As a Certified B Corp, GOODEE’s carefully selected brand partners are required to report on their supply chain and labor standard, as well as their ecological footprint.
Over half of their partner brands are female-owned and their own leadership team consists of 67% women.
Green business practices:
The company is Climate Neutral Certified through carbon offset programs and uses eco friendly packaging.
They are seeking further ways to make their supply chain more energy efficient, which you can read about in their Impact Report.
100% of their products feature sustainable and ethically-sourced materials.
Community & charitable giving:
GOODEE is a member of 1% for the Planet.
Available: GOODEE
3. THE CARDBOARD BOUTIQUE
About The Cardboard Boutique
UK-based small business The Cardboard Boutique draws inspiration from the 60s and 70s as well as Danish design for their collection of environmentally friendly lighting.
With a selection of pendant lampshades, eco friendly table lamps, and standing lamps, you’ll find retro-inspired designs for every room in the house.
The Cardboard Boutique’s Ethical and Sustainability Practices
Materials:
True to its name, The Cardboard Boutique makes sustainable lighting fixtures from 100% recycled cardboard.
Those in white and yellow are instead made of repurposed Corex (a corrugated plastic).
Any hardware is made from steel.
Supply chain & labor practices:
All items are handcrafted in their small Nottingham studio.
Green business practices:
The Cardboard Boutique uses recycled and repurposed materials and believes that “we all have a responsibility to minimise any negative impact whilst trying to maximise positive outcomes.”
Available: Etsy
4. BURROW
About Burrow
From sustainable sofas that you can burrow into to beds, shelves, eco-friendly coffee tables, and desks, Burrow is on a mission to “reinvent the way people make themselves at home.”
Think timeless designs combined with modern features like built-in chargers and modular, made-to-expand items that can grow with you.
To go with their furniture, they offer floor lamps, sconces, pendants, and eco friendly lamps made by London sustainable lighting brand Tala.
Burrow’s Ethical and Sustainability Practices
Materials:
The environmentally friendly lights are created from various materials including marble, linen, wood, smoked glass, brass, and porcelain.
Supply chain and labor practices:
Burrow curates a selection of sustainable lighting solutions from several different brand partners.
The Tala eco friendly table lamps are designed in the UK and manufactured in China.
Green business practices:
Burrow is committed to reducing waste by making (or in this case choosing to sell) durable, well-made and thoughtfully-designed products that won’t end up in landfills.
To avoid unnecessary transport to their warehouse, lighting is shipped directly from their brand partners, fast and free.
Available: Burrow
5. RECREATED LIGHTING
About Recreated Lighting
For one-of-a-kind upcycled eco friendly lights for homes, Recreated Lighting is in the spotlight.
This small business makes an assortment of sustainable lamps, sconces, and pendants all from repurposed metal pipes and vintage glass.
If you’re a fan of the steampunk, industrial vibe or just appreciate clever upcycling, this brand’s sustainable lighting fixtures might be of interest.
Recreated Lighting’s Ethical and Sustainability Practices
Materials:
Recreated Lighting uses antique glass insulators, vintage mason jars, reclaimed metal piping, and old car hub caps to create its upcycled designs.
Supply chain & labor practices:
All items are handmade in Oregon.
Green business practices:
Using reclaimed and vintage materials is an effective way to cut down on waste and lower a product’s ecological footprint.
Recreated Lighting also sells sustainable led light bulbs to pair with their creations.
Available: Etsy
6. STICKBULB
About Stickbulb
New York brand Stickbulb creates some of the most sustainable lighting fixtures made from reclaimed wood, metal, and sustainable LED light bulbs.
Originally inspired by a pile of scrap wood, their minimalist collection of eco friendly lamps, sconces, and linear pendant lights have a contemporary, less-is-more feel.
The sleek wooden beams come in 1 to 6-foot lengths and are made to plug in and out of the steel hardware connectors without the use of tools.
Their larger sizes are featured in many commercial and retail spaces.
In the home, they make excellent eco friendly kitchen lighting, living room lighting, and lights for other large rooms.
Stickbulb’s Ethical and Sustainability Practices
Materials:
Stickbulb uses locally sourced sustainable materials including reclaimed redwood from old 19th-century water towers and pine salvaged from demolished buildings in New York.
You won’t find any veneers; only solid wood.
All new wood is responsibly sourced from sustainably managed forests.
Supply chain & labor practices:
Handcrafted in New York, Stickbulb’s sustainable lighting is made within a 5-mile radius of their headquarters.
Green business practices:
The minimalist design uses the least number of parts possible and components are easy to dismantle for repair, reuse, and recycling.
Available: Lumens
7. COLLECTIVISTE
About Collectiviste
UK-based small business Collectivisite has traveled the world seeking global artisans to offer a range of eco friendly lamps and pendant lights handcrafted from natural materials.
From rattan pendants made in Bali to recycled capiz shell floor lamps made in Java, the brand has an abundance of unique and beautiful ethical lights to offer.
Collectiviste’s Ethical and Sustainability Practices
Materials:
Natural, responsible sourced materials like bamboo, oyster shells, and palm fibers are used throughout their collections.
The stained glass lamps are made from kiln-fired hand-painted glass.
Supply chain & labor practices:
Collectiviste is a small family business that partners with artisans from around the world including Bali, Columbia, and Java.
Green business practices:
These eco friendly lights are made in small batches using traditional artisan production processes.
All of Collectiviste’s lamps use efficient, eco friendly LED light bulbs.
Available: Etsy
8. BICYCLE GLASS CO.
About Bicycle Glass Co.
Founded by independent glass artists David Royce and Michael Boyd, Bicycle Glass Co. makes beautiful hand-blown sustainable lighting from recycled glass.
Browse their range of chandeliers, pendants, sconces, and semi-flush mounts for some of the best eco friendly lighting made from recycled materials.
They’re also committed to keeping their sustainable lights affordable.
Bicycle Glass Co.’s Ethical and Sustainability Practices
Materials:
Bicycle Glass’s eco friendly lights are made from 100% locally sourced pre-consumer and post-consumer glass waste.
If you’re looking for dimmable sustainable lights, all models come with a dimmable LED bulb.
Supply chain & labor practices:
Each piece is individually hand-blown by skilled artisans in Minneapolis.
This video shows the captivating process.
Green business practices:
As well as using recycled glass, the Bicycle Glass Co. uses recycled newspapers to help mold the hot glass.
All packaging is recycled, recyclable, and compostable. To avoid plastic bubble-wrap, shades are wrapped in Geami paper and old boxes are repurposed into a cardboard lining for shipping.
Bicycle Glass’s sustainable lighting solutions are sold with sustainable LED bulbs and the company offsets its electricity usage with wind credits via Xcel Energy’s Windsource Program.
They’ve also installed two beehives on the roof of their Minneapolis office to help pollinate their local area and compost as much as possible in their backyard.
Available: Bicycle Glass Co.
9. LIKE MINDED OBJECTS
About Like Minded Objects
If bright colors and quirky appeal are your jam, have a look at the “Almost Nothing” eco friendly table lamps and floor lamps from Like Minded Objects.
Motivated by the climate crisis and the desire to divert waste from landfill, LMO creates furniture, upcycled clothing, and home decor made out of a variety of recycled materials.
Like Minded Object’s Ethical and Sustainability Practices
Materials:
The Almost Nothing Collection of eco friendly lamps is made from thin metal rods and clothing waste.
They also use powder-coated steel for certain elements.
We’re not sure what their Pleat lamps are made from. The silhouette bases appear to be plastic but we will be reaching out to learn more.
Supply chain & labor practices:
Like Minded Objects is a small business operating out of a New York-based design studio.
Green business practices:
Upcycling textile waste, small batch production, and custom orders all help reduce this sustainable light brand’s environmental impact.
Community & charitable giving:
Founder Elise McMahon also works with the Kokrobitey Institute in Ghana, an educational non-profit working to join the fields of art, culture, design, health, and sustainable development.
Available: Like Minded Objects
10. DAVID TRUBRIDGE
About David Trubridge
Internationally renowned designer David Trubridge creates sustainable lighting inspired by the nature around his New Zealand home.
The light and airy geometric pendant lights are available in different sizes and colors and come as kits for easy self-assembly.
David Trubridge’s Ethical and Sustainability Practices
Materials:
David Trubridge’s answer to the question, “Which lights are eco friendly?” is anything made with sustainably harvested bamboo or natural birch plywood.
Both are abundant and sustainable to grow.
Other materials include powder-coated aluminum and recyclable nylon clips.
Supply chain & labor practices:
David Tunbridge sustainable lights are made by a small team in David’s Hawke’s Bay workshop in New Zealand.
Green business practices:
The sustainable lighting fixtures are shipped unassembled in a recycled cardboard box, using 1/40th of the amount of packaging needed for the assembled lights.
Available: Lumens
11. HONEY & IVY
About Honey & Ivy
Can 3D printed plastic homeware become sustainable lighting?
It can if you use non-toxic, bio-based thermoplastic made from renewable natural resources as Honey & Ivy does.
If you’re looking for eco-friendly desk lamps or eco friendly bedside lamps, the whimsical shapes and soft mood lighting provided by these lamps may fit the bill.
You can custom order the color of the base.
Honey & Ivy’s Ethical and Sustainability Practices
Materials:
All products are made from 100% bio-based PLA (Polylactic Acid).
PLA is made from renewable, natural resources including corn starch and tapioca products, making it a more sustainable option than fossil-fuel-derived plastic.
While they are compostable, note, however, that without the right industrial composting conditions it can take up to 80 years to biodegrade, one of the reasons why PLA is not a silver bullet.
Thankfully it’s also durable so your lamp will last a long time—over which time access to industrial composting facilities will hopefully improve!
Supply chain & labor practices:
All items are designed, 3D-printed, and hand-assembled in Honey & Ivy’s Portland studio in Oregon.
Green business practices:
Honey & Ivy’s sustainable lamps are made to order using 3D printing because it eliminates the need for heavy machinery, reduces energy consumption, and minimizes waste.
The lamps can only be used with energy efficient LED bulbs—incandescent bulbs will melt the plastic.
Available: Etsy
12. LANNA PASSA
About Lanna Passa
Family-run business Lanna Passa offers a selection of homeware, lighting, and textiles that showcase traditional artisan techniques from hill tribes in Northern Thailand
You’ll find upcycled cushion covers made from vintage hill tribe dresses, handspun, indigo-dyed batik fabric, and a range of handwoven sustainable lighting.
Some of the bamboo pendants are made in the design of traditional fishing baskets and can be shaped (think: concertina-effect) to your liking.
Lanna Passa’s Ethical and Sustainability Practices
Materials:
Wiring and bulb hardware aside, Lanna Passa’s sustainable lighting solutions are 100%handcrafted from bamboo.
Supply chain & labor practices:
This small, family-run business is based in Chiang Mai. They source materials directly from the Hmong & Lisu villages in Northern Thailand.
Green business practices:
Natural materials and traditional artisan production processes help tread more gently on the planet.
Community & charitable giving:
Lana Passa focuses on supporting the hill tribe communities and keeping traditional craft traditions alive.
Available: Etsy
HOW WE FOUND THE BEST SUSTAINABLE LIGHTING
How did we find out which lights are sustainable?
Much like applying our criteria for eco-friendly furniture and ethical home decor we looked at the following:
Materials:
The most sustainable lamp materials are recycled and/or recyclable—such as scrap cardboard, glass waste, plastic bottles, and salvaged wood.
When new natural materials are used (such as bamboo, wood, and shells) they should be responsibly sourced.
Other infinitely recyclable materials include brass, glass, and aluminum.
As for bulbs, sustainable LED lights are the way to go to brighten up any space.
With 85% less power consumption than halogen bulbs, they’re energy-efficient (hooray for lower bills!) and long-lasting (15,000–50,000 hours).
Supply chain and labor practices:
If we want truly ethical lights, we also need to consider the social impact.
Many of the sustainable lighting brands on our list are small businesses, operating out of design studios/workshops and sourcing locally available materials.
Smaller brands aside, we’re not quite seeing the same level of transparency with the makers of the most eco friendly lighting brands as we do from say ethical jewelry brands or sustainable clothing brands.
But things are moving in the right direction and we’ll be reaching out to brands to confirm labor practices where necessary.
Green business practices:
Beyond sustainable materials, the brightest eco friendly lights are those that are made-to-order to minimize waste, shipped in recycled packaging, produced using carbon-conscious methods, and designed to last a long time.
Community & charitable giving:
While this isn’t a necessity, brands that give back to charity or environmental initiatives certainly add a warm glow to any eco friendly bedroom lighting.
FINAL THOUGHTS ON ECO FRIENDLY LIGHTING FOR HOMES
So what are the most sustainable lights?
As always, they’re the ones you already own (without the halogen and incandescent bulbs…).
A key aspect of sustainable interior design is using what you already have followed by preloved acquisitions.
While it may only be a small light at the end of a long tunnel, supporting eco friendly lighting companies when you do need to buy new is one step toward a brighter future.
Did you find this article illuminating?
If so, please share it with your friends and family and help enlighten them on ethical lighting issues.
